Sleeping With the Enemy

“Calm down, I’m literally leaving the locker rooms this very moment. I’ll catch up with you in no time!”

What he didn’t say was, that he wasn’t leaving the away team’s locker room, but that he was sitting in his old cage, now carrying another man’s name. He was not the kind of guy who showed when something really gnawed at him, but sitting in this room again after trading to the Philadelphia Flyers at the beginning of the season had him massage his whole face. Philly was a nice place and he liked the team and his hockey had been great all season, but he missed his old team.
He was still friends with all of them, but the obvious distance and a busy season took its toll and when they did meet it was mainly on the ice, on opposing sides of the blue line.

Sighing dramatically, he slid his phone back into the pocket of his black dress pants, rose from the bench seat and patted the shelf which had carried his name not too long ago. He should have been ecstatic: his team had defeated the Pens tonight and therefore progressed to the 2nd Roundof the playoffs, but all he could think about was how awkward it would be between him and his old team mates once he’d make it to the bar/ restaurant they had agreed to meet and catch up prior to the game.
Finally leaving the room and making sure the door was closed behind him again, he slid into his overcoat and started humming a song that had been in his ear since 2nd period.

It was unusually cold for late April in the Pitt and he thanked his intuition earlier in the day that he had taken the thin Hugo Boss wool coat with him, no matter how much he would have preferred his old Pens fleece jacket which was still hanging in his wardrobe back in Philly. The halls were so familiar to him, the amount of times he had been walking the underground corridors…

“Oh get a fucking grip Max!”

He chastised himself loudly, knowing that the chances of anyone hearing him were slim. Pittsburgh was the past, he had been with the Flyers now for over half a year now and he just had to get over it.
Just as he was about to turn another corner, one of the doors behind him pulled open with a heavy sigh of hinges, the clicking of heels interrupting his self-pity.

“I am doing you a favor here, so why don’t you get off the phone and stop bothering me. Yes, I still remember where your space is. I’ll see you soon.”

Putting his head to the side, he retraced a few steps and turned around to catch a glimpse of the woman stalking towards the dressing rooms, knowing exactly where she was going.
He could only see her tall and fit figure, as her face was hidden by long brown locks cascading over her shoulders, her sleek arm reaching forward as her hand landed on the door handle. Exhaling loudly she pushed the lever down and disappeared in the locker room.
Clicking his tongue, he unbuttoned his coat again and rubbed his hands: maybe he didn’t have to go by himself after all! Coming to a halt inside the threshold, he decided to observe the intruder for a bit, before making himself known.

“Why do I get the feeling you shouldn’t be in this room, rifling through Sidney Crosby’s stuff non the less. But if you’re willing to accompany me to have a couple of drinks I would consider turning a blind eye.”

The girl froze in her movements, her hand still mid-move in the overhead space of Crosby’s locker. Letting her hand slowly drop, he licked his lips in anticipation as the girl started to slowly turn around. His heart stopped for the fraction of a second when his eyes- and loins- registered who exactly was invading the locker room of his old team mates.

“I don’t think you are in any position to blackmail me into drinks. After all, you are no longer part of this team Max.”

His breath was taken away when she had turned around completely, her wide smile having the same effect it had held over him a few years ago. Her blue-green eyes were big and almost almond shaped, her full lips were coated with a light sheen and he already knew that her hair would be smelling of Bilberry conditioner from The Body Shop. She had changed, yet stayed the same.

“Taylor…wow! I haven’t seen you since-“

“Since I spent 2 months as an intern here, I know. Feels like yesterday.”

She finished for him, shifting her weight from one high heels-clad foot to the other, trying not to show her nerves. As he didn’t say anything or made a move, she turned again and continued rummaging through the bag of clothes above the bench, carrying the name Crosby.

“Sid still doesn’t know, does he?”

Max enjoyed the visible shiver that went down her spine. Her hand pulled back from the bag, a big bunch of keys dangling from her elegant fingers before she dropped them into her purse. Taylor turned her head slightly and looked at the man she had fallen for so hard 3 years ago: barely legal, star-struck and easily lulled in by his beautiful smile and the right words, his hands that had touched her at all the right places and his soft lips that had promised her the world. The pull in her abdomen was still the same, but she had learned from the past.

“No matter how much a good friend he is to you, I am pretty sure he would have still tried to kill you if he knew you screwed around with his baby sister. Of course he doesn’t know. I have to go and meet Sid and the others.”

She knew that he would never just let her leave like this, but she still tried to make a dash for it. She also knew that he was expected at the same restaurant that she was headed for, her brother had told her that his old team mate would be joining the small group of men for a drink or two, no matter who’d take home the win in that game.
She could feel his hand on her arm before she heard him move up behind her, a cloud of his earthy rich eau de toilet enveloping her and causing her to inhale deeply as she closed her eyes for a second, memorizing his scent and warmth.

“What are you doing in Pittsburgh Taylor? I know you’re not a big hockey nut, you wouldn’t just come all the way from Florida to see your older brother play.”

Feeling her shift in tension underneath his hand, he slowly turned her around, peering down into the rich eyes that were so unlike her brothers. Having her in this position tempted him to drop a simple kiss to her full lips, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop once he started. He had never been able to stop when it came to the younger Crosby sibling.

“I’m here to support my brother, and seeing that you just kicked him out of the playoffs, I am glad that I came. Do you need a lift?”

Shrugging his hand off her shoulder, she quickly put a few steps distance between them. Being this close to him was clouding her senses, and she could not let herself be that naive little girl she had been 3 years ago.
He had always treated her good back then, looked after her and made her feel special. Max had treated her like a woman , not the 19 years old girl, who happened to be the younger sister of one of the youngest Captain in NHL history.

Setting his mouth in a tight line, he simply gave her a nod, buttoning up his coat again and following after her once she turned to leave. Her figure had become fuller, her hips no longer were those of a girl and her ample bosoms looked all the more alluring from what he had been able to catch a glimpse of. Her black heels were doing a nice job of highlighting just how endless her slender legs were and the skirt…

“Stop checking my ass out Talbot.”

Like a deer caught in the headlight, his head snapped up to her but she wasn’t even looking at him as she was steadily making her way through the maze of corridors, ultimately leading to the underground car park and the player section.

“You can’t really blame me Tay, I haven’t seen you in years after you took off the way you did back then. I didn’t even know you’d gotten into college all the way in Florida, you never told me.”

A white BMW X5 flashed its lights when she pressed the button on her keys and she didn’t delay getting into the driver’s side and waiting for him to slide into the passenger seat.

“Maybe if you would have taken some time to actually talk to me instead of just fucking my brains out back then, you would have learned a few other things about me. How do you like Philly, are they good to you down there?”

He was floored. Absolutely floored.

“Wow…hold on a sec! Are you telling me I was just getting my rocks off with you and didn’t give a shit about you? That’s harsh. We went shopping, for lunch & dinners and even movies! I fucking helped you get away from your overbearing brother…I thought you and I had a good run. Who the hell knows: if you wouldn’t have disappeared on me like that, things could have become more serious.”

Starting up the engine in order to mask her amused snort, the radio sprang into action with some bad French music. He sounded hurt, and she felt bad about her statement.

“I’m sorry Max, that came out wrong. We had a fun 2 months and I really missed you when I left. Sidney is immature but not dumb, he would have found out sooner or later and even though the sex was great…it wouldn’t have been worth the two of you fighting over me.”

She placed her hand carefully on his thigh, willing herself not to look up should he touch her. But both of them knew that she had already lost the game.
His hand appeared in her peripheral vision and he twisted the key in the ignition, successfully shutting down both the engine and the radio. His warm breath was suddenly beating against the side of her face and all her composure was lost. She knew that very moment that they would be late to the restaurant. If they’d make it out of this car park at all.

“You weren’t this scared of what Sid would think back then. I remember an early morning on February, when you surprised me at the locker rooms before morning skate. You knew I’d be in early, and you knew no one else would be here for a while. I am certain it was the first time that a Crosby broke the “no sex in the locker room” rule…especially doing it on in his bench. Does the thought of that morning still get you as wet as it did back then?”

The needy whimper slipping her lips was the last thread she had been hanging on to: him talking dirty to her had always been her weakness. His hand was slowly brushing her hair away from her face and over her shoulder, closely followed by his hot lips pressing an almost gentle kiss to her temples, breathing in her scent and warmth.

She remembered the morning he was talking about all too well, after all: she had blackmailed him into breaking the unspoken rule of pretty much every hockey team in the NHL: no hanky panky in your team’s locker room. Threatening to tell her brother what or who exactly she had been doing almost every night since she had arrived in Pittsburgh, he had given in and allowed her to have her way with him. Knowledge that it was pretty much forbidden what they were doing and where they were doing it had adrenaline pumping through both their bodies that morning, and to this day, she had never been able top recuperate the same feeling during sex.

“I was young. Having a man like you woe me had me make a few bad calls. How about-“

She was interrupted by his phone going off, letting go of a breath she had been holding. She could hear him cuss quietly in French as he looked at his phone, clearly unhappy about the person calling him. Knowing he couldn’t fight her while being on the phone, she twisted the key in the ignition and set the car in motion.

“Yes Sid, I know I was supposed to be meeting you over an hour ago. But guess who I bumped into as I was passing the dressing room? Taylor has grown up over the last few years, no wonder you never brought her over to any of our parties: the boys would have gone crazy!”

Her jaw dropped as she stopped at a traffic light, not believing that he was talking about her like this. He visibly enjoyed pushing her buttons, trying to get a rise out of her brother, too. She wanted to kick him in the shin, but the mischievous smile he was sporting had her clammy hands grip the steering wheel tighter.

“Well, she found your keys and we’re on our way now, but I asked her to drive by my hotel to pick up something I wanted to give Tanger. Sure you wouldn’t mind waiting a bit longer with the guys, it’d only be an extra…10 minutes.”

As he said that, he was placing his big hand high on her thigh and squeezed the tender flesh a little, almost daring her to say something. But Max knew that she was long gone, even though she was desperately trying to hold on to her composure. He was letting his hand wander further up her thigh as he was still casually chatting with Sid. Closely monitoring her reactions when his long fingers slid to the inside of her thighs he wished he had a free hand to adjust his pants for the newly woken-up hard on: she was now biting the corner of her lips, looking at him from the corner of her eyes.

“What do you want.”

She breathed helplessly, wanting nothing more than jump out of her seat and kiss him, have his big hands leave burning trails allover her body. He in turn enjoyed seeing her like this immensely, not even listening to the person on the other end of the telephone line. He remembered why he had adored her so much back then, why he could never get enough of her: it was her body’s instantaneous reactions to the way he was touching her. The slightest touch could set her off, ignite a fire in her eyes and have her go from shy little girl to wicked sex kitten in close to no time.
Not to alarm her brother, he let his fingers find the rest of the way, finally stroking her hot and moist center through a thin layer of fabric. The noise he received from that move had Max hard instantly. With squealing tires, she made a right into a side street not 10 blocks away from the Consol Stadium, braking hard and turning off the engine.

“Uhm…no, just some idiot driver cutting us off. We’ll be there in no time mon ami.”

The second he had ended the call, a heavy breathing Taylor snatched the phone and threw the offending object in the back of the car, almost jumping over the middle console and straddling him, a wild look in her eyes.

“I hate it when you tease me like this Talbot! I should just kick you out of the car right here and now!”

She let her fingers play with his playoff beard before she moved her head down to his level and ghosted a kiss over his lips. He didn’t even attempt to hide the erection that he was springing, her hips pushing into his, letting him know exactly what she was feeling right now.
Separating their lips to catch a breath, Max placed his big hands on her hips and pulled her into him with a demanding gesture.

“Oh but you love being on the receiving end of whatever follows after Taylor. That was one of the reasons you kept going behind your brother’s back to see me back then.”

Snorting in obvious disagreement, she tried to push herself away from him, but was caught off guard as Max’ teeth latched on to her collarbone. Gentle at first but the more she tried to pull away the deeper he let his teeth sink into her tender flesh, letting the tip of his tongue prod along the skin at the same time. An aroused moan slipped her lips as she let her head drop back, eagerly enjoying the prickling sensation running all the way down to her core. She could feel his hard-on pulsate through the thin material of his dress pants, almost as if it knew it was so close to her hot centre.

“We can’t do this Max.”

He knew the tone of her voice, her desperate attempts to convince herself that her head would somehow convince her rebellious body that what they did was wrong. That they owed it to her brother not to have the relationship they had.
3 years ago, he had been overwhelmed by the way she had made him feel, her little kinky side, her excitement of bedding an older guy who was clearly off the table due to his friendship with her older brother. She never asked him to be exclusive and he never suggested it, but during the 2 month she had been in town for the internship her poster-boy brother had arranged for her, Max only ever had eyes for her. She would joke that it was the fact that she was barely legal and forbidden fruit of sorts, but he knew better: it was her careless approach and the fact that she didn’t care that he was one of the Pens’ star players. It was a no-strings-attached kind of deal, and even though the whole secrecy side of it started to get on his nerves, he would have never been able to just forget about their cautious behavior and let the world know that yes: he was boning Sidney Crosby’s baby sister.

“We did it back then, what’s different now? I’ll be leaving with my team tomorrow morning, there won’t be any repercussions this time around.”

One of his hands was sliding to her hot center again, the moist heat between her legs letting him know that no matter what she was saying, she truly did want this to happen.

“Everything is different Talbot,”

She voiced with a shaky breath as she rested her head next to his ear, drawing in the scent of his Joop perfume. She had met men after him who used the same eau de toilet but it never smelt the same on them as it did on him. Allowing her hand to run over his black dress shirt, feeling his well-sculpted body underneath her eager fingertips. It was like rediscovering something familiar yet long lost.

“You’re with the Flyers Max…not just any team, but the fucking Flyers. Before, I was just fucking one of his best friends. Now I’d be fucking his old team mate who went to join enemy lines. It’d be a slap in the face for him.”

He stopped all movements and let his eyes connect with hers’. No matter how heavy lidded her eyes were or how much her body was responding to the way he was touching her, he could not ignore her tone of voice. It was full of regret and the slightest hint of distaste.

“You have to be kidding me.”

His hands were now placed on her hips, not even attempting to stop her as she swung herself back into the driver’s seat, gently banging her head against the steering wheel. The mood had instantly changed: gone was the sexually charged sizzling, making place for a strained, cold animosity between them Turning her head and letting the side of her face rest against the steering wheel, she tried to piece together an apology he would accept.

“What we had back then was innocent fun! I was young and wanted excitement and you were all too happy to give me that, and I’ll never be able to thank you enough for the things you taught me Max. But I’m older now. I’m done with college and I moved in with Sid until I get a job and can get a place of my own. I didn’t care about his feelings back then because I didn’t have a worry in the world. But right now he is not only missing one of his best friends, but is also still sore about the team you chose to sign with.”

She watched him murmur to himself, before a smirk played around his lips and he turned her way.

“I know a way you can thank me for all the things I taught you, you know?”

A big weight fell off his shoulders once she giggled in response to his comment. Things between them had never been awkward, ever, and he didn’t want it to start now. That didn’t really help the erection he currently had in his pants, but he knew when to let something rest.

“Tell me one thing though: if you didn’t have to leave for college back then and stayed here, do you think we would have kept going and would have at some stage told your brother that we are an item no matter what he thought of it?”

He really needed to know. Ever since he had laid eyes on her in the locker room, all he could think about was why on earth he had hidden their affair back then. Yes, there would always be the point of her having been 6 years younger than him and the tiny factor of her brother being one of his team mates…but in the end all that mattered was that they had fun together. They had been exclusive even though they had never officially said so and they had never made a big fuss about the age gap.
A soft smile took over her features and she placed her hand on top of his, gently stroking her thumb over the back of his hand.

“You have no idea, do you? I was head over heels in love with you back then. First I thought it was some silly teenage crush, especially after we started fooling around. But you never treated me like a little girl, you gave me everything I ever wanted and never asked for. In the end I ran, I was so scared that maybe somewhere down the line you’d realize that being with a 19 years old was not good for your reputation once news got out…so I chose the offer from Florida instead of CMU.”

“You had an offer from CMU and you moved all the way to Florida to get away from me because of some teenage angst? What the hell were you thinking Tay’!”

Making her feel small was not really what he had been going for, but only now did everything begin to make sense. Her not staying in touch with him once she left Pittsburgh, hardly ever accepting his calls, not telling him when she was in town to visit her brother…

“So basically you wanted more but freaked out and just ran?”

He monitored her reaction closely: the way her cheeks gained in color, how she tried to let her hair fall over her eyes so she didn’t have to make eye contact and how she quickly moistened her lips.

“That’s all the answer I needed. Come on now, we can’t let your brother wait any longer or he’ll think you took advantage of me or something, not mentioning that your boyfriend would probably not like you sitting alone in a car with the infamous Max Talbot.”

She feigned shock and he just laughed, sending her a wink and switching the radio station once the engine started up again. This night was far from over and still getting this kind of reaction from her had him somewhat satisfied. He almost didn’t hear her mumbled response over the loud country music that was blasting through the speakers of her car, but only almost.

“If I had a boyfriend.”